Dennis Potter passed away thirty years ago this June, and University of Gloucestershire's Reading the Forest in partnership with The Palace Cinema and Dean Heritage Centre is marking the anniversary with a unique marathon screening of one of his most popular and ground breaking serial dramas, The Singing Detective on Sunday 9th June 2024.
Tickets to the screening can be pre-booked here: https://cinderpal.com/cinderford/soon/
The event is the result of the University’s longstanding partnership with the Dean Heritage Centre that saw the Forest museum secure Potter's literary papers to set up the Dennis Potter Archive and permanent exhibition. Researchers and students at the University worked with the museum on setting up and cataloguing the collection, and on putting together the exhibition including producing the Dennis Potter Audio trail. Dr Hannah Grist, who wrote her Phd thesis at the University about the collection, later co-authored a ground-breaking book with Professor Joanne Garde-Hansen about the relationship between Potter’s fans, memory, and the archive.
Ongoing work with the museum has produced several events and exhibitions highlighting how Potter frequently set and filmed elements of his work in his native Forest of Dean, including The Singing Detective. Large parts of the drama were filmed in the Forest, and as with his other locally filmed works, local people were employed as extras. He was a hugely important figure in the development of British television, but he never forgot the people and places where he grew up.
The screening is taking place at The Palace Cinema in Cinderford. “We’ve worked with the University before, and are thrilled to be hosting this event”, says owner Andy Lougher. The cinema, built in 1910 is one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas still operating in Britain, and Potter himself would have known it as a youngster. The audience is being encouraged to come dressed as characters in the drama – detectives, spivs, doctors, nurses, patients, or in 1940s period clothing.
The screening will be introduced (via video) by world renowned Potter expert and author Professor John Cook of Glasgow Caledonian University, a long-standing friend and consultant to the Potter Archive. John’s own research in the archive saw him author a recent paper demonstrating how Potter drew on several of his longstanding themes and ideas in his writing of The Singing Detective. Those attending the screening will also get to see some of the unique artefacts relating to the drama that are held by the Dennis Potter Archive.
Professore Cook's paper can be accessed for free here:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/files/72336635/Cook_J._R._2022_The_Country_Boy.pdf
Tickets to the screening can be pre-booked here: https://cinderpal.com/cinderford/soon/
The event is the result of the University’s longstanding partnership with the Dean Heritage Centre that saw the Forest museum secure Potter's literary papers to set up the Dennis Potter Archive and permanent exhibition. Researchers and students at the University worked with the museum on setting up and cataloguing the collection, and on putting together the exhibition including producing the Dennis Potter Audio trail. Dr Hannah Grist, who wrote her Phd thesis at the University about the collection, later co-authored a ground-breaking book with Professor Joanne Garde-Hansen about the relationship between Potter’s fans, memory, and the archive.
Ongoing work with the museum has produced several events and exhibitions highlighting how Potter frequently set and filmed elements of his work in his native Forest of Dean, including The Singing Detective. Large parts of the drama were filmed in the Forest, and as with his other locally filmed works, local people were employed as extras. He was a hugely important figure in the development of British television, but he never forgot the people and places where he grew up.
The screening is taking place at The Palace Cinema in Cinderford. “We’ve worked with the University before, and are thrilled to be hosting this event”, says owner Andy Lougher. The cinema, built in 1910 is one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas still operating in Britain, and Potter himself would have known it as a youngster. The audience is being encouraged to come dressed as characters in the drama – detectives, spivs, doctors, nurses, patients, or in 1940s period clothing.
The screening will be introduced (via video) by world renowned Potter expert and author Professor John Cook of Glasgow Caledonian University, a long-standing friend and consultant to the Potter Archive. John’s own research in the archive saw him author a recent paper demonstrating how Potter drew on several of his longstanding themes and ideas in his writing of The Singing Detective. Those attending the screening will also get to see some of the unique artefacts relating to the drama that are held by the Dennis Potter Archive.
Professore Cook's paper can be accessed for free here:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/files/72336635/Cook_J._R._2022_The_Country_Boy.pdf
